Butts, 180-205 degrees, any difference?

[DavidD]

I have seen fairly consistent comments related to the internal temp of pork butt going to 180-205 degrees. Given the slow cooking process, the difference between 180 and 205 can mean a couple of hours or so. It made me wonder, what is the difference in terms of the meat at the low end of this range vs. high? Comments use this range and say "to preference or taste" but I'm not sure how the meat would differ if two identical butts were cooked at 180 and the other at 205.

pls advise.

 

[David Lohrentz]

David,

Internet temp is a guide, not the final determinant of the characteristics you desire. The same butt will typically indicate different temps depending where you put the probe. If you wish to pull the meat for pulled pork, then the meat should offer little resistance to a probe or other similarly-shaped object when inserted. The amount of marbling will also affect the internal temp when the meat reaches this point.

All that said, if you wish to slice the pork, then you would be aiming for the lower end of that range. If you wish to pull it, you would be aiming for 190 or above in most cases.

 

[Doug D]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by David Lohrentz:
Internet temp is a guide... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Do you measure that at the router, or at the NIC?